The BBC is rolling out its global iPlayer app to the Apple iPhone and iPod touch.

The app for the catch-up service was initially made available for Apple's iPad only in July this year and allowed users in 11 countries in Western Europe including France, Germany, Italy and Spain to catch up on current BBC shows, such as Doctor Who, Top Gear and Eastenders as well as classic programmes including Fawlty Towers and Only Fools and Horses on demand.

However, the app, which is free to download from the App Store but comes with a monthly subscription of €6.99 (£6.15) per month or an annual cost of €49.99 (£44), has now been made available to Apple's smartphone and iPodTouch owners. The app is also now available in 15 countries including Australia and Canada.

"The global BBC iPlayer has seen great growth since the pilot first launched in July – both in terms of geographical expansion and technological developments.," said John Smith, the chief executive of the BBC Worldwide

"Moving to iPhone and iPod Touch allows us to take the service to a significant new potential audience and deliver fantastic programme content from the BBC and the UK's creative industry."

The BBC also revealed it will add two new categories to the global iPlayer app in January, Music and Arts and Culture. Furthermore, selected speech programmes from BBC radio will also be made available through the app.

President of Worldwide Networks and Global BBC iPlayer, Jana Bennett, said "it's also about a mobile strategy – about truly getting TV everywhere in a way that it hasn't been before".

"We also want the global BBC iPlayer to be truly representative of the whole gamut of British creative output, to represent everything that is great about British content – not just the Best of British TV but the Best of British Culture."